MSRP $29,500

About the Bike

Rockem & Sockem Bobber Ride Test

Ralph, a local builder with a manufacturing license, has been building great bikes for several years. After success with the old school Snap-on Tools Bobber, they decided to go in to production building a limited number of similar Bobbers. The build that I rode was old Yellow #39. You get to choose the color or number you want with purchase!

I have ridden quite a few Bobbers over the last year. One reason for this is they still remain a very popular custom bike and very affordable for the buyer. By the way, you will find over the years that I have not written many negative articles or comments. My goal is to highlight good finds, not cast a negative view on any of the builders or bikes. For that reason, some bikes that I ride, I decide not to do a review.

This ride is one of those really great rides! So, what set it apart from some of the other rides? It would be way too easy to just say it was just a fun bike to be with. First thing that I noticed in the walk around is the hardtail. Personally, I would never buy a hardtail. When you ride a bike with a rigid frame you find that you are paying a lot of attention to the pavement right in front of you because the check holes and big bumps are very unforgiving to your back and bottom area. After a short time on this ride, I forgot that it was rigid. This is because of a simple little pair of springs under the rider seat and oversize tires. Wow, what a difference that makes.

As soon as I got underway, heading south on South Country Club, I knew this was going to be a great ride. From the look over the clean handlebars to the sound of the two into one exhaust and the feel of the road with the oversize tires. This bike feels like you are wearing it. It was very obedient and just begged to be played with. It’s the darn kind of bike that wants to get you into trouble. With no speedometer to distract you from driving, you have a tendency to ride the way you want, not the way you should with the standards set by society. But if your goal is to comply, you probably wouldn’t want to ride a motorcycle anyway, right.

After 15 minutes of riding around in traffic, I found an on-ramp. What a welcome site. This is where I found out the power of this little beast. Rockem & Sockem does not include the weight in their specs, but I would guess it is around 450 – 500 pounds. Now you introduce the 103-inch S&S motor and you have a powerful little performer. The on-ramp did increase the trickle of adrenalin a noticeable amount. This little Bobber screams. When I told Ralph that I was impressed with the performance from the Bobber and the 103-inch mill, he just laughed and said that was the small engine. With all sincerity, this is the fastest Bobber that I have been on. I would venture to say that this bike would run in the low 13 to middle 12 seconds in the quarter mile. Hold on!

On the freeway, this Bobber rides real nice and smooth and has plenty of power at any speed. This is a solid riding bike with the ability to easily pass and change lanes at will. Again, here is where you can get into trouble with society’s rules. That aside, this Bobber is a great ride. If there was anything that I would like, providing it was my ride, I would like some better back support. But, this again, is not the kind of bike that you take on tour.

A lot of the Bobbers that I ride have 6-speed trannys. This little 5-speed was plenty good. I did not consider it a distraction that there was not an extra gear to grab and the engine RPMs did not make it feel like you should be shifting again around 70mph like some rides. When in 5th you do not have the feeling that you need to downshift to accelerate at any speed over 50mph.

Summary

I remember when I first sat on the bike that the clutch had a hard pull to it. Once underway, I didn’t even notice how hard the clutch pull was. Very fast little Bobber, even if it has the small engine. Fun to ride and very obedient. Soft ride for a rigid frame because of the springs in the solo seat and oversize tires. One thing that I did not mention was the great look of this fine ride. This Bobber sets itself from other Bobbers with the open 3” wide primary belt and the nostalgic look from the Shovelheads from S&S. You will also get your own number with purchase, providing it is available. You will have a lot of fun with this Bobber and be rewarded with a lot of attention from other bikers. After all it is a creation from Ralph at Rockem and Sockem.

Ride safe,

Kirk
Phoenixbikers.com